Author's Note: Special thanks to everyone who's read my previous works. This was a long time in the making, as I wasn't as focused this time around. But it should be something special nonetheless. Do not forget to R & R!


Chapter 34

Saria and Malon weren't screaming anymore. They just stood silent and in shock. It just started out as an innocent walk in the graveyard, as odd as that sounded. When they stumbled into the Royal Family's tomb, they heard something moaning. That something…was a person. That person was the missing Princess Zelda. Her dress was torn from what had to be days of scrounging in this grave and she was covered in dirt from head to toe. Undoubtedly, Saria and Malon had a lot of questions.

But Zelda asked the first question. "What are you guys doing here?"

"You're asking us?" Malon asked in surprise. "Zelda, how did you get down here?"

Zelda turned around. She was trying to find the right words. "I was thrown down here."

Saria felt like she didn't have to ask. She knew about that guy who passed through Lon Lon Ranch. The same guy who must've done something with Link. That same guy must've thrown Zelda in here.

But Saria asked anyway. "By who?"

Zelda turned back around to face the two girls. "I was set up. It happened a few days after the moon started falling…"

Zelda looked up at the sky again. She couldn't take her eyes off the falling moon. It wasn't even a month since she got back from that parallel Hyrule. It was barely a month since Link saved that world from the falling moon brought by the wizard, Drekkin, when he put on Majora's Mask*. And now she was in the face of another disaster. The moon of this world was now falling.

Zelda remembered what Link did with the Majora's Mask of the parallel world. He threw it in limbo on the way back to this world. But there was one thing about the theory of parallel worlds. Everything existed in one form or another in a parallel world. A Majora's Mask existed in Termina. A Majora's Mask existed in the parallel Hyrule. And a Majora's Mask had to exist in this Hyrule. That had to be the cause of why the moon was falling.

"Stop pacing around, Zelda. You're going to have a nervous breakdown."

Zelda's three Lizalfos bodyguards, Kreature, Krash, and Og, were more than agitated by her constant pacing. She couldn't stop pacing since the moon started falling. Since somebody put on Majora's Mask.

"I don't care," Zelda snapped. "Can't you see what's happening? The moon's falling down and is bringing Armageddon with it. I can't relax. Why should I relax?"

"Because we all know what's going to happen," Krash tried suggesting.

"Who else comes to the rescue in these types of situations?" Kreature pointed out.

"Just leave it to the Hero of Time," Og said assuredly. "He'll stop that thing."

"I want to believe that," Zelda frowned. "I know Link could do it, but what if he doesn't? I'm the Princess of Hyrule. I can't take any chances."

"But what can you do from here?" Kreature asked.

"That's the whole problem," Zelda huffed.

Having said that, Zelda stormed out. She felt like going out into the town and watching the moon from there. But just as she was about to exit through the front gate, she found a note by one of the armored statues. She wondered why there were no guards around. She made sure there was nobody around anyway and opened the note.


"I know how to stop the moon from falling. Meet me outside in Hyrule Field and come alone. It's not a good idea to bring anybody with you. Trust me."

Link


Something didn't seem right about this. Link wasn't the type of person to leave a note on the castle gate. Then again, he wasn't the type of person to come through the front door, either.

"Hey, Zelda. What's that?"

The sudden outburst caught Zelda off-guard. She turned around to see the chunkiest of her bodyguards, Og.

"Just a note," Zelda said nonchalantly. "I'm stepping out for a minute."

"Where're you going?"

"Outside," Zelda answered. "I'll be right back. And don't tell anyone I'm gone."

Zelda didn't even let Og say anything else. She just walked out. If Link was waiting for her outside, then she couldn't waste any time. The lizards were right. Link would be the one to stop the moon from falling.


Chapter 35

Zelda was lucky that the town was deserted that night. No one seemed to want to come out since the grim discovery that the moon was indeed falling. So she went out in the open. The princess expected to see Link outside as soon as she got there. But Hyrule Field looked to be empty.

Then someone grabbed Zelda's arms from behind. Someone had a death grip on her wrists. Zelda couldn't turn around. She didn't know who this was.

"Looks like I found my second victim."

The voice was a gruff one. It definitely wasn't Link. This was someone else.

So Zelda cried out for help. "LINK!!!"

"Oh come on," the man growled. "You didn't REALLY fall for that, did you?"

The note was a fake? Why didn't Zelda see it before? "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter who I am," he said. "It just matters who YOU are. You're one of the four who helped foil me. Everything was fine until you and your little friends showed up. I was lucky to stumble on the little hero first. And I had a feeling I'd find YOU here. I couldn't find the others, but it doesn't matter. They'll go down soon enough, along with the rest of your world."

"What do you mean?" Zelda demanded.

"That moon up there?" the man pointed out. "That's my revenge. It'll teach outsiders like you to mind your own business!"

"So what are you going to do with me?!" Zelda shouted. "I'm the Princess of Hyrule! It won't take them long to see I've disappeared."

The man laughed sinisterly. "Then I'd better put you some place where they can't find you."

The man loosened his grip on one of Zelda's wrists. Zelda was about to turn around, but her face was soon covered with a rag. It had to be full of chloroform, because Zelda felt like she was going out. The last thing she saw was what this attacker looked like. He was a tall man with a bald head and a goatee, wearing a black soldier's uniform.

Zelda woke up. She looked around her and saw she was in an unfamiliar place. She tried to find a way out, but was surrounded by darkness. That's when Zelda stumbled by a torch. Being the Princess of Hyrule and the seventh sage, she learned a few tricks. So she lit the torch with her fingertips. After the torch was lit, she saw there wasn't much place to go.

She walked over to what looked like a door. She pushed the door open and walked into a chamber with bubbling hot lava. Then she saw a creepy sight. There were dozens of ReDead inhabiting the room. In an attempt to avoid them, Zelda walked alongside the wall until she reached the other side of the chamber. She went through another door and found a disturbing sight.

It was a dead end.

Zelda walked up to the end of the chamber and saw that something was written on the wall.

"Herein lie the remains of generations of Hyrule's Royal Family."

Zelda shrieked in horror. This maniac threw in the Royal Family's tomb. She was buried alive within the grave of the Royal Family. Then she heard groaning. It was from the many ReDead that inhabited the grave. Zelda ran out the door and headed back the way she came. She avoided the ReDead that chased her and ran back through the first door. She used her magic to seal the door shut and Zelda could hear the ReDead trying to get through.

She honestly didn't know how long the door could hold them. But Zelda knew this much. She had to find a way out of this tomb. Since this was the Royal Family's tomb, Zelda knew she was in the Kakariko Village graveyard. Knowing where she was buried was the only comforting thought, unfortunately. The princess still needed answers. She didn't know who this madman was. And Zelda didn't know why he was doing this. He wanted revenge, but what did he want revenge for?

Zelda then felt some dirt fall on her head. It was falling from above. Zelda smiled. She had an idea. Seeing a box in the corner, Zelda dragged it towards the center of the grave and stood on top of it. Grabbing a nearby stick, Zelda extended her arms upward and tried to pick away at the dirt. Even if it took her forever, Zelda would dig herself out.



Chapter 36

"I still can't believe it," Zelda smiled. "It's a miracle that you two were around just as I finally started to poke though the last of the dirt. But how did you know I was here?"

Neither Saria, nor Malon, knew what to tell her.

Finally, Saria admitted, "Actually…we didn't."

Zelda looked puzzled. "Then…how did you two get here?"

"We…just happened to be taking a stroll in the graveyard…as weird as that might sound," Malon tried saying. "And we stumbled on the Royal Family's grave and started digging."

Saria suddenly remembered something important. "But Zelda? Who was that guy who threw you down here?"

Zelda suddenly looked indignant. "I don't know who that creep was. But he looked like some insane Hylian soldier. One I've never seen before. Something he said, though, stuck with me. He said he was doing this for revenge. And he admitted he was the one who sent the moon crashing down. But…" she paused.

"But…?"

"He wasn't wearing Majora's Mask," Zelda finished. "The moon can't fall unless he's wearing Majora's Mask. You know what that means, don't you?"

Malon realized it first. "He's not acting alone. There's someone else out there."

"It sounds right," Saria said thoughtfully. "Whoever's working with this guy must be the one wearing Majora's Mask and bringing the moon down. One thing still doesn't make sense to me, though, besides the revenge thing. What do they hope to accomplish by this? When the moon collides with Hyrule, they'll be killed too."

"I think it's time we find out," Malon declared boldly.

"But we don't know where this guy is," Zelda pointed out. Then she saw the hopeful gleams on the faces of Malon and Saria. Zelda started to smile. "You DO know where he is, don't you?"

"All our leads point to Kakariko Village," Malon said. "We're just hoping he hasn't left yet. But if he has, we're sure someone else will lead us to him."

"But just the same, we'd better hurry and get out of here," Saria added. "This place is really giving me the creeps."

"Just…one problem," Zelda said sharply.

"What's that?"

Zelda dug through the dirt that fell to reveal the remains of the box. Then Saria looked up to see it was a long way out of the grave.

"I guess only one of us will be able to get out," Saria concluded.

"And I think it better be you," Malon added. "Zelda?"

Zelda assumed the position and waited for Malon. Malon let Saria up on her shoulders and Malon stood on top of Zelda's back. With the sudden boost, Saria reached up and climbed out of the grave. She looked back down to see Malon and Zelda both at the bottom of the grave.

"Go get help, Saria!" Zelda called out. "We'll wait for you down here."

"It's not like we can go anywhere else," Malon pointed out dryly.

Saria ran out of the graveyard as fast as she could. She could only hope that someone was in the potion shop this time around.


Chapter 37

Somi knew it was old news, but she knew the moon was coming closer to the ground every minute. As far as she could tell, there weren't even three days left. In three days, this world would end. The Kokiri were starting to believe it was hopeless. If the world was to be saved, it would have been saved by now. Somi had a glimmer of hope when Sodo said something about Saria knowing how to stop the moon. But she was still gone and the moon was still falling. Maybe she should just accept the world's fate and just enjoy the last feast set to be eaten by the Kokiri.

So the Kokiri waited eagerly by the entrance of the Forest Temple. The boys should have come back by now with what they claimed would be dozens and dozens of Deku Scrubs. Finally, Somi could make someone out.

"Hey, somebody's coming!" Rala suddenly cried out.

"Does it look like they're loaded?" Fala asked excitedly.

"I'm not sure," her twin sister, Ralo, replied.

"It…doesn't look like it," Mira said grimly.

Finally, Mido walked into the Forest Temple and he was seemingly empty handed.

"Well?" Rala asked cynically. "Where are all the Deku Scrubs?"

Mido just looked behind him. "Miso? Domi?"

A tired Miso and Domi came in dragging behind them one Deku Scrub. It was the only one they had.

"One?" Fala asked sharply. "You did all that bragging and you brought back ONE Deku Scrub?"

Ralo shook her head. "I bet the Know-It-All brothers did better."

As if on cue, the Know-It-All brothers started making their way into the Forest Temple. To the shock of the girls, they also had one Deku Scrub.

Dila tried a quick excuse. "They must've seen the moon coming. They probably all went into hiding."

"There wasn't a single one out there," Sofa added. "We were lucky to catch this one."

"Can't believe it," Dore said cynically. "Only one. Even Mido probably got…"

Dore saw Mido's catch and smirked. He realized that they both ended up with only one Deku Scrub, despite all the claims they made before going out into the Sacred Forest Meadow.

"Looks like we have a tie," Somi said brightly.

"A tie?" Mido whined. "That seems so cheap."

"Yeah," Dore added. "I could've had twice as many as Mido…"

"You mean two?" Mido smirked.

"YES, TWO! Anyway, I could have had more than Mido if Sodo hadn't stumbled into our trap."

"Hey, that's right!" Mido snapped. "Sodo stumbled into our trap too! It's his fault!"

"Where is he, anyway?" Dore demanded. "He owes me a Scrub."

Somi suddenly remembered. "He's not back. He said he was going to find Saria."

"You mean Saria's not here either?" Mido asked. "Where is she? She can't miss this. This is probably our last moment as a Kokiri family."

"Not like it'll matter in a few days anyway," Dore sighed. "Besides, those two are probably sharing a sickeningly romantic moment. I'm sure they'll be back."

Somi wished she could believe that. But she didn't want to be the one to tell them. This wouldn't be the time to worry the Kokiri. This should be a time to be cherished…their final days as a Kokiri family.

"Let's get going. Time to set everything up."


Chapter 38

Saria finally looked up at the potion shop. She was still a little nervous about this. What would she say when she saw the faces of the man and woman who raised her as their daughter for five years? She didn't know, but she had to find out. Not only that, but now there was a sense of urgency. Malon and Zelda were still stuck in the grave of the Royal Family. So Saria checked the door…and it opened.

She made her way through the potion shop until she got to the door leading into the home of Pofrigitio. She took a deep breath and knocked. Someone was indeed home. When the door opened, Saria looked into the face of Pofrigitio. But the look on his face wasn't one of shock. He wasn't shocked that the girl he raised as a daughter suddenly appeared on his doorstep. He seemed…bewildered.

He directed his eyes behind him. "Io? Is she still in her room?"

Saria didn't know what to make of this. Who was he talking about? And why wasn't he more glad to see her?

Po's wife, Iogrotaye, walked in. "Yes, Po, she's still in there…"

Io's jaw nearly dropped open upon seeing Saria. She started looking back into what Saria recognized as the bedroom of their daughter, Cuellens. Io had the same puzzled look as her husband.

"Po? I just…how did she get out here?"

Po looked at Saria in confusion. "Saria? How did you get out here?"

"I came from the Forest Temple," Saria answered. "I came here because I needed some help…Po."

"Po?" the potion shop owner asked ecstatically. "Io, she remembers! She got her memory back!"

Saria didn't understand. She didn't recall losing her memory in the first place…unless he meant that time a long time ago. But Io was still perplexed.

"Po, you don't understand…"

"Excuse me."

That voice came from behind the bedroom door and Saria's curiosity went up about a hundred notches. The voice sounded so familiar, as well it should have. Just then, the bedroom door opened. Saria gasped when she saw who came out. It was impossible…but she was really there. It was like she was looking into a mirror. Because standing in front of her was her parallel self from the parallel Hyrule. Standing in front of her…was Princess Saria.

"How…did you get here?" was all the Forest Sage could ask.

Her parallel self asked the same question. "How did YOU get here?"

Pofrigitio was more than confused. "Io…get me a drink…and an aspirin…please."


Chapter 39

The Forest Sage Saria still didn't know what to say. She only asked her question again. "How did you get here?"

An explanation was all the Forest Sage wanted, because this was so confusing. The last thing she expected to see was her parallel self in her world.

"I…used this," the parallel princess answered. She held up a blue bottle. "I knew I had to find some way to get here and this was the best I could do."

Pofrigitio suddenly intervened. "So…you're…Saria…and she's Saria? You two are the same person?"

"I can explain that," the Forest Sage said. "She's from a parallel world. A world just like this one." She looked at her parallel self curiously. "But…why are you here?"

"I'm here because of the moon," Princess Saria replied. "Your world's in danger because of the falling moon. You probably knew that already."

"I know we don't have much time left," the Forest Sage Saria said grimly.

"But what you don't know is what's causing this," Princess Saria continued. "It's the work of Majora's Mask."

Saria did know that. Pofrigitio didn't.

"Majora's Mask?"

"It's an ancient mask of evil," Saria clarified. "Whoever wears it possesses evil powers. And the past wearers have used it to bring the moon down."

"It sounds just like the mask of legend," Po suddenly said.

"It is the mask of legend," Princess Saria confirmed. "Like in the other dimensions, the mask exists in this world. And someone's discovered it."

"But how did you know about it?" the Forest Sage asked. "You knew that someone possessed Majora's Mask here and that the moon was falling down. How did you know that?"

"It's because I know who's behind this," the princess answered. "He's a warlord who wears a black Hylian soldier's uniform and has a balding head with a large goatee. And I know because he's…someone from my world."

Somehow, some of this was starting to make sense. It explained how this guy planned to escape the impending doom himself. But Saria couldn't help but notice that her parallel self's words were…singular.

"But isn't there more than one of him?" Saria asked.

Princess Saria was caught off guard by that statement. "More than one? What do you mean?"

"One of my friends saw him and they told me he wasn't wearing Majora's Mask. There has to be someone else he's working with who IS wearing the mask."

"I didn't hear anything about that," Princess Saria said grimly. "That's not good news, then. Who told you this?"

"It was…" the Forest Sage gasped. "I completely forgot! They're still stuck!"

"What do you mean?" Po asked. "Saria, what's happened?"

"My friends are stuck in the Royal Family's tomb!" Saria squeaked. "I have to get them out! I need a rope!"

Pofrigitio grabbed a nearby rope and started heading out. Saria and her parallel self followed shortly after. It was uncanny to see the resemblance.

As Saria went outside, she looked into the sky. The moon was nearly staring Hyrule in the face now. There couldn't be more than a few days left. She had to hurry and get Malon and Zelda out. Then she had to worry about finding this guy who was causing all this.

Saria just had to know who his accomplice was…and where he was keeping the missing Link.


*-See 'A Place Like Home…?'


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